TxDOT considers major changes for U.S. 281 at Basse,...

1of2Additional access points being considered for U.S. 281 could relieve traffic congestion that motorists encounter on the freeway near Basse and Jones Maltsberger roads. The Texas Department of Transportation is seeking public comments on the proposed changes at an open house Thursday evening.Photo: Express-News file photo

2of2A look at major improvements planned for U.S. 281.Photo: Michael Fisher

Two busy interchanges on U.S. 281 could undergo a major redesign to relieve congestion around Alamo Quarry Market and other nearby retail and residential developments.

One proposed change would be the addition of a northbound entrance and a southbound exit on U.S. 281 at Basse Road.

Another would create a “diverging” interchange where U.S. 281 intersects with Jones Maltsberger Road, which would allow vehicles turning left to avoid oncoming traffic.

Texas Department of Transportation officials will host an open house about the plans from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday to hear comments and questions from the public. The meeting will be at Alamo Heights United Methodist Church in the Christian Life Center at 825 E. Basse Road.

No funds have been committed to the estimated $11.8 million project, and no plans have been finalized. The project is a collaboration between TxDOT and the City of San Antonio.

“This is still very much in the planning stages ... there’s no funding available right now,” said Hernan Rozemberg, a spokesman for TxDOT’s San Antonio district. “We want to make it clear this is not a for-sure thing that’s going to happen.”

The section of U.S. 281 between Jones Maltsberger and Basse is hampered by a lack of continuous access roads and limited entrance and exit ramps. As it is, U.S. 281 at the Basse interchange has exits only on the northbound side and entrances only on the southbound side.

Traffic going to and from the Quarry retail area and surrounding neighborhoods feed the congestion at both interchanges. A set of railroad tracks running parallel to U.S. 281 complicates the traffic patterns.

The freeway’s current set-up with its unusual ramp configurations is “pretty confusing for travelers,” said Mike Frisbie, the city’s transportation and capital improvements director and city engineer.

“It would dramatically improve the efficiency of traffic as folks try to move in and around that area,” he said of the proposed changes.

At Jones Maltsberger, a preliminary study showed the diversion interchange would improve wait times there from 38 seconds to 32 seconds, Rozemberg said.

If no changes are made to that intersection, the wait time by the year 2042 is projected to rise to 102 seconds — nearly two minutes, he said.

Discussion of the proposed changes began in the fall of 2017 with a schematic design and a preliminary environmental study. That schematic design could change based on public comments received at Thursday’s open house, Rozemberg said.

“Just about all the projects that we do in one way or another address the tremendous growth that we’re having here, which obviously has a tremendous impact on our roadways and our traffic,” he said.

Peggy O’Hare reports on housing, demographics and the census for the San Antonio Express-News’ Metro Desk. She joined the Express-News in April 2013. She is a former reporter at the Houston Chronicle, where she worked for 11 years. She is a graduate of Texas A&M University.